'What a funny individual.'
A snort rang out, before bursting into a mad cackle, that continued for countless minutes before she remembered to calm herself down.
Her expression turned sour at the thought.
This woman was none other than Yadera, and truthfully, maybe it was more appropriate to describe her as savage rather than divine.
She didn't seem to have any of the features one would expect from someone with 'Goddess' attached to her name.
Her face was pale, her hair was a mess, no signs of any care for such things.
The maybe most standout feature on her were her dark lips, which were colored with a blueish black.
Of course this wasn't too full one into thinking she was weak, in truth she had the appearance of a budding young woman.
Every bit curvaceous and alluring, but there was just something about her that felt…off?
Unknowingly, she let out a smirk, a look of adoration appearing in her eyes.
It had truly been too long since anyone cleared this particular leg, but much to her surprise, two had managed it this time around.
Well in truth maybe figuring out that was part of the challenge was a trial in itself.
'This one in particular though…' she bit her lips.
She had only two words that made all the difference.
'Rune Reading.'
Though all humans were knowledgeable about runes not all had this level of mastery.
For most it was simply a means to an end. Complex applications like using it to Rune Read murals, was hard to come by.
Had she found him?
And then there was that other individual. She narrowed her eyes.
Truthfully most were unaware this was even part of the challenge, simply choosing a door randomly, the lucky ones got through, then the not so lucky ones…
She looked at the pile of bodies beneath her, the crease in her brows softening, giving way to a smile.
She sat within a dark enclosure that allowed no other illumination than herself.
Light didn't seem to have any pretext here, avoiding the enclosure as if unreachable.
And yet the woman seemed to give off a natural glow of her own. It was rather strange though.
Her figure was illuminated only for one to forget that it was in the first place, just to experience it again.
It seemed odd to describe it this way yet, maybe even this explanation fell short.
It was like her existence was phasing in and out only to be forcefully stabilized. Forced to be repeated. Forced to be acknowledged. Forced to be remembered.
Her savagery did nothing to subtract from her majesty, if anything it made her more sought after, more priced, more dangerous.
Beneath her countless corpses were piled up. On each of their faces, well the ones who still had faces, was the expression of Greed, Sorrow and… Joy.
Each was simply another failure.
Truthfully most people failed at the entrances not even realizing it was part of the challenge.
Looking through the 50+ panels she shook her head with a sigh.
There were only 15 of them left.
Mean of those that participated this time around, more than half were already dead.
She had thought maybe she chose the wrong trial but she was much too stubborn to change it now. Plus… she was looking for something.
Where she was from it was known as…
[The G.O.D of Humanity]
Greed. Sorrow. Deceit.
Maybe the greatest sins humanity let rule them. She had heard of a certain 7 sins but in her opinion, those were simply variations of these.
What was Wrath if not Sorrow of remembrance? What was Sloth if not Deceit of oneself?
What was Pride if not some combination of Greed and Deceit?
Of course, she understood that maybe at a deeper level they represented very different things but her main point was that humans were the cause of their own downfall.
They stole from one another to satiate their Greed and selfish desires.
They killed without remorse, causing the Sorrows of others so long as enough benefits were involved.
They Deceive each other wearing fake visages, creating false togetherness only for it to break apart when push really came to shove.
They worshipped these things indulging in their blessings but were quick to deny them if questioned.
This was humanity's nature… or maybe the one they chose to nurture within themselves.
This was the hundredth and first year since she began this trial.
What she sought-
She shook her head, maybe she would fail this time as well.
…
BADUM!
BADUM!
BADUM!
If before his heart beat once every several minutes now it felt like a rushing river had opened up, his blood pumped into and revitalizing his body.
Feeling the rush he felt… human.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, staring at the screen update.
[Mask of Remembrance: (Unique)(Completed)]
[Trial Reward (True Trial)]
DING!
[Fracture Title: Goddess's Sorrow (???)]
[True Trial Title: Maze of Forgetfulness(-)]
[Trial Type: Maze (Unique)]
[Trail Description: A Memory is only as useful as those who remember. The fewer who remember the more doubtful the memory. So why bother to remember? Travel far and soon enough your destination will reveal itself.]
[Trial Requirements: Navigate]
[Failure: Death]
[Time Limit: (-)]
Tristan eyes glowed.
If before he couldn't make sense of it, then now he could. This whole place seemed intent on contradicting itself.
Also…
[Trial Type: Maze (Unique)]
Again?